Foundation courses

If you have graduated from the Kuwaiti High School, you will be required to successfully complete a one year International Foundation Programme before entering Cardiff University's undergraduate programmes.

You will also need an overall average of 85% or above in the Shahadat-al-thanawia-al-a’ama School Leaving Certificate, with at least 85% in key subject areas to qualify for the International Foundation Programme.

Undergraduate courses

You will be required to have GCE A-level qualifications or the International Baccalaureate (IB) to qualify for entry on to Cardiff University's undergraduate programmes.

If you have graduated with the Shahadat-al-thanwia-al-a'ama, you will be required to complete the International Foundation Programme before starting an undergraduate programme at Cardiff University.

Postgraduate taught courses

You will be required to successfully complete a four year undergraduate degree (at a minimum GPA of 3.0) from a recognised institution to be considered for entry on to Cardiff University's postgraduate programmes.

Postgraduate research programmes

You will be required to provide evidence that you have already carried out research, usually via the successful completion of a relevant master's degree.

English language

A relevant English language qualification is also required — normally a minimum of 6.5 IELTS, however, this may vary from course to course.

If you are unsure of your qualifications or entry requirements please contact the International Office.

Representatives from the International Office visit Kuwait regularly throughout the year. Details of our next visit will appear here shortly.

Tariq recently moved from Kuwait to Canada to be part of the exciting oil and gas industry in Calgary. Facing brand new challenges both culturally and professionally, his colleagues wonder how he manages to get along with international clients and find common ground with almost everyone. Tariq attributes that life skill to his exposure at Cardiff University.

As a Student at Cardiff University

Why did you choose Cardiff to do your BSc?

I had a friend in school who was a brilliant student back in Kuwait. When she was going to the UK she told me “go and do your research, which ever university you choose, make sure they have a 5-star rating for the course that you want to do”. Cardiff had that rating and when I asked her about it, she said “oh you’ll love the city – I’ve been there myself and I think it would be a good place to go”. I didn’t know anyone in Cardiff per se but I heard that it was a good university with a good reputation.

I did a lot of research in terms of getting to know the place; what the university had to offer; how many students there were; how the course was structured, etc. I loved the course I did. Even looking back now, I remember doing the course on the Development of Accounting, a module in my third year. It was taught by one of the senior Professors at the University and it was purely about how accounting developed, the history of accounting and how things evolved.

Life after Graduation

Tell me about your brand new career in the oil and gas industry. What are your responsibilities?

Before I moved to Calgary I was working with clients from the retail and manufacturing sector and the questions I asked on a daily basis were: ‘is the inventory going to go obsolete?’ ‘Are they counting the inventory properly?’ ‘How are the sales going?’ ‘How is recession affecting sales?’

Now that I have been referred to KPMG and am working with clients in the oil and gas industry, everyday it is more about ‘upstream’, ‘downstream’ and ‘royalties’. It’s a steep learning curve every day. It’s a completely different industry, the whole business model is different and the operations are different.

What sort of audit work do you do on a daily basis?

Performing financial audits serves one major purpose - giving credibility to the company’s Financial Statements. This could serve different companies in different ways. For example, it helps a private company when it is looking to be bought out or it goes public and gets listed on the stock exchange. When our clients tell their stakeholders that they’ve had revenues of X million and X amount of profit, we give our opinion as auditors commenting whether the statements are reasonable and if they are true and fair. We bridge gaps between the company and its stakeholders - investors, governments and tax authorities.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

My main role is the senior-in-charge of audit engagements. I’m not the one to initiate any client relationships but I do have to make sure that everything runs smoothly. The manager has ultimate responsibility for everything, but I am the person ‘in charge’ that the manager relies on and trusts.

It’s hard to stipulate what we do on a daily basis because it changes frequently. For example, we changed audit tool last week and we’re transitioning from the old package. We’ve had to go through training and sort out teething problems. It’s been quite a challenge to make sure that things get transferred properly, that the files make sense. So the past few weeks we’ve just been busy doing interim planning for the year end audits.

Reflections

And what important lessons did you learn in Cardiff that you carry with you to this day?

Before coming to Cardiff I always lived in a very sheltered, protected environment in Kuwait. When I came to Cardiff I was like “wow, this is a different world”. I guess it was more of the social aspects that really struck me the most. It equipped me with how to live and to understand people on a social level. So when I started working with different people I got along a lot easier and my social skills improved a lot more. It definitely made me a different person.

So, Cardiff developed the social side of you?

Oh for sure. When I was in Ernst & Young in Kuwait, I was working with Arabs, Africans, South Asians and people from the Far East. I would be the one who would get on with everyone and people would be like “how do you do that? What do you talk to him about?” It’s about finding that common ground. It’s easier because living in Cardiff gave me that experience, without a shadow of a doubt.

What would you say to a prospective student from Kuwait who wanted to study in Cardiff?

Speaking to an international student, I would say Cardiff was the place that made me what I am today. Without a doubt! That says a lot in itself. The social aspects; the academic structures; the course; amazing professors and tutors that I interacted with and who I’m still in touch with. Speaking for my accounting course, I would say it’s extremely strong and that it gave me the technical skills professionally and the ability to think outside the box.

Cardiff was the place that made me what I am today.

Student views

My professors were very clear about their ideas and they frequently evaluate your academic progress, which I found to be very good.

Joseph Albat, LLM

The best place to escape from the hectic life of the city is the countryside. If the weather allows it, enjoying the beauty of the Welsh countryside is always my first choice to spend my spare time.

Salah Waheedi, Community Pharmacy (PG)

Cardiff Contact - Patrick Cosh

Hello. I’m Patrick Cosh and I’ve been Country Manager for Kuwait since 2012. I’m a Cardiff University alumnus and studied Modern History and Politics at the University, graduating in 2004.

I visit Kuwait several times a year, and my role involves guiding and assisting Kuwaiti students applying to Cardiff. As well as meeting with prospective students on my trips to Kuwait, I work closely with Embassies and other partner organisations of the University

Please do feel free to let me know if you have any questions about studying at Cardiff University, as I will be very happy to advise further.

Clubs & societies

Cardiff University Islamic Society

The Cardiff University Islamic Society (Cardiff ISoc) is an organisation formed by students, for students to increase understanding about the religion of Islam. Cardiff ISoc runs events throughout the year, ranging from socials to sporting events, open to all.